It was a slow day at the Den- Vex figured the rest of the Wolves were probably out stealing, mugging, or whatever it was each of them did to get paid. He, on the other hand, was doing something rather rare for him: practicing. One thing that had always been a bit of a problem for him was creating different illusions while maintaining a disguise- so he'd decided it was time to fix that.
Instead of looking like Vex Idrian, the man sitting at a table spreading cards out before him appeared as a tall, dark haired man in his late twenties, elegantly dressed and wearing a cap with a bright red feather in it. The cards on the table, meanwhile, kept flashing between different faces and values. At times there were two of a certain type, or none of another, but not for long as Vex worked his magic as quickly as he could. If he could get quick enough with these, he could work on keeping them up. If he could learn to keep the illusion up long enough, he could finally use those blank cards he'd made.... and then he'd essentially be able to win as much as he liked.
Then it all fell apart. A queen of diamonds was meant to become a six of clubs, but ended up a nine, and in correcting that mistake he lost control of three other cards, and from there it all went south. His disguise was blasted into pieces, leaving him just him in his shabby street clothes- although he did still have the nice hat- and in a panicked swipe of his arms (reflexes, sometimes physical movement helped focus his magic) he knocked half of the cards to the ground. "Arrgh! Got cocky... stupid cards... something in this room screwing with my magic..." Anyone walking in would see a very red faced, very annoyed Omega Wolf grumbling and stooping to pick up the scattered cards.
Canis Rufus, the Red Wolf, had been watching the Omega practice since before he wrapped himself in that silly disguise. The kid was getting better at controlling his magic, but Rufus felt he should master the trick without magic first. If he could do that, then the magic could simply be used to augment instead of acting as a crutch. So caught up in his trick, poor Vex didn't notice Rufus as he approached the table. Of course his magic failed with the anti-magic eye patch in proximity, only constant magic enchantments would work with the Red Wolf near.
"Sorry kid. You know magic doesn't work around me," Rufus bent to help pick up the last few cards from the floor, "Why aren't you wearing your armor, and where's your Omega badge? It represents your authority over Wolves without titles."
Torak had spent most of the day wondering what to do with his money. Gambling it seemed like the only reliable option to get rid of it.
He walked into the Den, having no idea what to do with all the 1000 coins from the nobleman, who had paid for a hefty assassination against a nobleman who was trying to wrestle control over the guard force, and focus their efforts into policing, and trying to stop the wolves running around the city. Torak's employer might have been putting in a good word for what Torak thought was an excellent job.
The job had involved no unnecessary deaths, the kill was bloody, it had no connection to the Soot Wolves, and looked like a bog standard murder, not an assassination. He thought he had gotten much better at what he was doing, as he had even managed to worm some black market information out of him before he died.
So when he saw the man changing the cards, and seeing Canis Rufus there as well. Interesting.
"Canis Rufus." Torak gave a small gesture of respect as he approached. And Canis Omega too! "Canis Omega." He gave the same level of respect to the Omega. He didn't mockingly bow, more respectful, as a loyal servant would to their master.
Vex raised an eyebrow and grumbled when the Red Wolf spoke up. Figures he'd show up right when the kid needed to practice. "I'm not wearing the armor and the badge because I can't get the armor to fit right, the badge makes dealing with the other wolves too easy, and both of them scream 'careful what you say' to anyone outside. You know how hard it is to get people off their guard if you actually look like you're a part of a criminal syndicate? Hard, boss."
The boy took the cards in his hand again and sat back down, grimacing as Torak walked in. The young man had heard plenty about Torak's... exploits, and even if he was getting better, his style still seemed clumsy and stupid to Vex. Plus, he struck him as a lunatic- what kind of idiot started murdering members of a group, then up and decided to join? If Vex had ever tried something that dumb, he'd have been killed seven times over. Of course, the grimace had less to do with his personal distaste for the man's methods and more to do with the fact that the one time he needed solitude, everybody seemed to gather around him.
Well, maybe he could use the chance to work on his other talents of deception. Setting the deck on the table, he grinned at both of them. "Well, if I'm not going to get any practice in, might as well try something else. You two got any coin to risk?"
Rufus sat at the table. "I don't have much time to spare, but I could stay for a bit. Alko," Rufus called to the bartender, "bring me a mug of Charon's newest brew."
Torak sat at the table after Rufus decided to, and thought about offering up his coin. Perhaps it would work.
"I have coin. What sort of stakes are we betting here?" Torak wasn't good at gambling, but coin and property didn't interest him. He simply did not want to buy things, or pay for them. They meant nothing to him.
Zeina had entered the room, immediately spotting Vex. He was one of the wolves she liked—since he was kind of like her kids. Except he was clumsy and stupid. But even still, she always favored the younger ones, with the exception of maybe Rufus. She was just about to walk up to him and join his silly card game until she saw the Red Wolf. No use trying to cheat with him around. Even if her slight of hand tricks might be able to fool his eyes, he knew her well enough to not trust her.
Then Torak walked right past her, either not seeing her or not caring to say anything. She had already heard about him from small talk among the pack. She didn't like what she had been told and was planning on keeping a close eye on him, but she watched him with what would look like uninterestedness to anyone else. He seemed respectful enough, though she couldn't tell how he was feeling. She would fix that soon enough. After all, Rufus liked her to make sure no crazy ones got admitted into the pack.
Finally, Zeina detached herself from the wall and walked over to the table. Pulling up a chair, she sat down. She nodded her head slightly towards Rufus as acknowledgement but did nothing else. She never did more than required, and she felt as if no more was required. Zeina had heard that Torak tortured to get information about the wolves, but doubted he knew that she was the Coyote. Most newcomers assumed she was just a waitress or had some role of no importance. But if he treated her unfittingly, maybe the Red Wolf could teach him some respect, something he was said to have been missing.
Lilly sat in the far corner of the room. She enjoyed the table she sat at. The way it was tucked away made her feel a bit secluded, almost as if she was watching the card game unfold before her but the participants couldn't see her, and the beast that was inside of her liked that a lot.
Lilly was new but she knew better then to honestly believe that the people at the card game didn't notice her, especially considering the rank of some of them. Her senses were on high, the full moon would only be a few days away, so she could hear the conversation, even at the distance she sat, with ease.
So she sat there nursing the drink she had gotten from the bar tender. She leaned her head back slightly against the wall behind her and stretched out her legs a bit. They didn't know she was a wolf, and she didn't want them to know that she took the name of soot wolf to a whole new level considering when she turned she was a black wolf. It would all play to her advantage, normal humans couldn't hear at that distance, and by all appearances, she looked like a normal teenager covered in dirt.
Vex quickly shuffled the deck and began dealing out hands of five- including one to Zeina, despite her not actually stating any interest in the game. "Eh, just a friendly game. Don't want to wager anything too much. Let's say the pot starts at... three glints each?" In all honesty, it was probably a little more than he should have wagered- the lad wasn't one to take on a lot of the higher paying work the Wolves were involved in. He usually covered his dues, his needs, and a few of his vices, but that was it. Still, he'd always had a bad habit of gambling more than he should. Besides, he had already taken care of the first two, which meant it was time for the vices.
Without waiting for a response, he slid his three coins to the center of the table and picked up his hand, a broad grin spreading across his face. Oh, it was a decent hand, but nothing spectacular, three kings and nothing else of note, and he wasn't trying to bluff. It was just how he played- if he tried to keep a straight face (without cheating and using his magic, which wasn't really an option here) there'd be some hint a keen eye could pick up on. If he just kept grinning the entire time though- not hard thanks to the fact that he did genuinely enjoy the game- it tended to throw a few people off. The tactic wasn't exactly flawless, but experience told him it helped him more than it hurt.
"We're betting real money? I see. Well all I have is gold so..." He took a quick look at his hand. Two pair, ducks and kicks, with a rocket. Well at least only three more aces were out there. Rufus reached under his armor and pulled out a small bound book with a tiny quill tucked in its pages. He opened it on the table and then snapped his fingers in the air. "Ink," he called out, and Alko brought a small bottle over with haste. He scratched out 'six glint' onto a page , marked it with his glyph, and then tore the page out putting it in the middle with the coins. "I see your three and raise you three. That's six to play now folks. Play is to you Torak" Rufus laid his cards face down on the table. He knew what they were, no need to look again.
(ooc: for those that didn't have a poker night every Wednesday for two years, ducks are twos and kicks are sixes. Rocket is obviously an ace, but I thought I should make sure to say so just in case.)
Torak pulled three gold from a small purse. "Again, raise three. Nine to play." Torak took a look at his own cards after putting the gold in the centre. He had luck. King, queen and jack. Beautiful. But he had no need of the money. He could throw it all in again next hand. He kept a completely unemotional face, not happy at all, he wasn't losing money. He wanted to rid his purse of weight, not gain weight. He didn't care if all his money went of the Soot Wolves personal armoury, he wanted rid of it. He could give it to Rufus when the time was right.
Zeina had noticed the teenage girl sitting in the corner, but didn't mention it. The girl had been assigned as a Scavenger but they hadn't had time to talk yet and figure out the details of her job. That would have to happen after the card game. Then she could introduce her to the rest of the kids.
Seeing Torak put three gold pieces on the table, Zeina inwardly sighed. "Glints, Torak, glints." Then she faked a yawn, stretching her arms up and moving her hair so it was no longer covering the left side of the chest. Doing this exposed her Coyote pin. She did this for the girl who was probably watching them, so that she would know who her leader was. The fact that it revealed her position to Torak didn't bother her much.
Returning her arms to the table and picking up her cards, Zeina merely stayed silent but added her own glints to the pile, again raising it by three. Her hand was worthless: a six of hearts, a four of spades, an ace of diamonds, a ten of hearts, and a jack of clubs.
If Zeina was playing seriously, she would've been using her special ability (which only Rufus and a few others knew about) to see emotions as auras to see how good people felt about their hands. But she was playing to pass time and to get to know the new guy a little bit, therefore she kept her eye sight directly on him. If he made eye contact with her even once, she would be connected.
The game was boring her, there wasn't any talk or even half coded talk, just a stupid game, Lilly was a bit disappointed at the fact. When she decided to glance at the table she did notice something new. The woman at the table was her immediate superior. She knew that once the game was over the woman would probably come speak to her. Tell her her duties in such.
Vex shrugged and slipped more of his own coins forward. "I'll call. Can't scare me off that easily." The young man shot a look around the table, thinking. He knew what the boss was capable of, but he'd not really given either of the other two enough time to figure them out. He was curious about Zeina- there was something about her that gave him pause, though he couldn't put his finger on it. Torak, on the other hand, still hadn't demonstrated to him that he had something rattling about behind his forehead. This would be a good chance to try and figure out both.
"So, anyone had any good jobs lately? I can tell Twitchy here-" he pointed to Torak, "-must've made out pretty well, seeing as he doesn't even have to bother using the right coins. Boss? Zei? Got any interesting stories to share?"
"Oh, my money is just something I don't need, you guys can split it between you. I gamble because I am crap at it, and it wastes money. I don't need it, you guys can gamble for it." He leant back and remembered his cards. They were easy enough. But hearing about Rufus and Zei would be good.
Since Vex only called that set the bet to Rufus. Once everyone had called they could get around to the draw phase of the game. His two pair was decent but there was plenty that could beat it. He'd ask for at least one, maybe three. "I'll call. The festival the city had a few days ago was nice. I picked up some new items, and I recruited a couple kids foolish enough to try and pick pockets of our associates," he covered the rest of the bet and let play pass to his left.
"Calling," Zeina simply said. She was prepared to talk to Torak about how rude it was to imply that they would want his money, but since Rufus stayed silent and his aura was untouched, she let the issue be. Glancing over to the girl in the corner again, Zeina asked, "Is that where that girl came from?" She didn't bother telling a story of her own. It was too much talking.
"She's not one of my catches. You'll wanna watch that one though. My scenters say she's not human. But let her keep her secret. At least until we know what she is."
Bored with the game and the people and the fact that they were talking about her, Lilly stood, leaving the room at a leisurely pace.
OOC: Hey I am pulling Lilly from this thread so you can skip me from now on.
"How many do you think will make their way to any position of power in the wolves Rufus? Without thinking about it." Torak drew when it was his turn. An ace. Dammit.
He thought about what to do, and his poker face changed to a face of frustration. This would at least confuse them.
One of the doors along the wall suddenly opened from the other side, and into the tavern area stepped out one of the newer Shadow Wolves, Elric to those who kept track of them, who seemed to have been adjusting his clothing in the tiniest bit of hurries. When he saw the table full of big names, the young man looked incredibly embarrassed, and did his best to hurry off into the deeper parts of the Den, giving quick, bowing nods to any of the Wolves that made eye contact with him in his egress.
Just after the Shadow Wolf at the door's threshold, Bujari stepped up from the dimly lit darkness of his personal holding he had viciously fought for time and time again in his years in the Den. He had only been wearing just a large loincloth he seemed to be retying around his waist, and he was practically gleaming in a sheen of sweat over his hairless body. The bald giant (or at least, giant when Charon wasn't around) had a smirk on his face, and his dark eyes first looked across the room to the bar at the opposite wall. Bujari gave a nod to Alko with a mocking smooch of his lips.
He felt in a good mood; his healing session with the Shadow Wolf went rather well. The pup had gotten himself some sort of skin sickness from frequenting one of the brothels outside the wealthy district of Arca, and Bujari was more than happy to help explore those memories to purge the infection from him. It had worked, and as an added bonus, the intimacy of the catalyst memories riled both Bujari and Elric in the passion of it all, and thanks to the Spirit Wolf's expertise, ended up in good clean fun, though he was pretty sure Elric had never held desires for laying with anyone other than women. That probably explained his quick exit, Bujari considered, with a twisted grin. "Oah Alko, why you nevah get seek no moah, eh?!" He said with a cruel chuckle.
Alko said nothing, he knew better than to encourage Bujari by answering his question, nor did he want to discuss anything about their one rendezvous they shared years ago; once was certainly enough as far as he was concerned. Bujari was a brute. He did, however, cant his head to direct his attention to the table down the way.
Bujari's eyes followed the gesture to the card game, and a wide grin came to his face. With a final tight pull to snug the loincloth, he sauntered over to the table, taking in the players. He had missed Lilly's exit, though that was probably lucky for her; Bujari loved fresh meat. There was Rufus, looking cool headed like always; Bujari wondered when they'd play one of their knife games again, the man seemed far too relaxed lately, can't let him get soft with all this slow business lately. Vex, the runt... hiding behind illusions, as if people did not do enough of that without magic; Bujari made a special note to drag him out sometime from under his thin magic sheets and show him a thing or two about working with the illusions already here. Zeina... Oh Zeina, that sweet thing would rot his teeth, though it might be worth the taste. She ran a good ship, but Bujari often thought of scenarios that would rock that boat. He would have to spend some time for something clever, however. And finally there was...
Ah... of course.
As he neared the table, the scent of spices, sweat, and sex were unavoidable, but at least the spices weren't so bad this time. The tall, shameless Bujari made as much eye contact with Rufus as the clever Red Wolf would allow, on his way to stand between Zeina and Torak. Before he made any greetings to them, Bujari placed one of his massive hands to get a nice grip on the back of the chair the new Shadow Wolf had sat upon, enough to let the assassin know that his hand was definitely there. Then, crouching on the balls of his feet, He got his face uncomfortably close to Torak's, looking at his hand of cards. He gave a 'tsk', despite the cards he saw, and with a heavy breath spoke softly to him, as to not be too disruptive to the game. "You must be da new Torak, yeh? You be sittin' in mah chair, 'pup'. Ah t'ink ya have ta be standin' fer da rest ah'v yer hand, it'll be good fer ya, yeh?" The face he had for Torak was a toothy grin that looked like it would start leaking venom at any moment.
Torak unfortunately smelt the man before he saw him. Originally, Torak had a mind to pay no attention to it, but, when he felt the heavy hand on his shoulder, Torak calmly looked up. Bujari, the Spirit Wolf. Another superior. Physically it seemed to be true as well.
"Of course Spirit Wolf, if you will it." He got up to let the lump of muscle they called a man sit down. He had to obey in front of Rufus.
Vex wrinkled his nose. Just great, it had to be him. Torak was clumsy in a lot of ways, but he wasn't nearly as bad as the Spirit Wolf as far as Vex was concerned. Bujari had always given the Omega the creeps, and he'd made it a point to avoid him whenever possible- but now he was even interfering with his card game? The illusionist shot the man a quick glare and looked back to his cards. "How are the recruits? Can't be that great, if they got caught, but what do you think of 'em? And hey, Al'! Can I get a drink over here?"
Zeina nodded at Rufus's comment about the new girl. She didn't really care whether the girl was a human or a zombie, as long as she did her job. But many of the non human ones had rebellious streaks, thinking they were better than everyone else. The others were depressed, thinking they were worse than everyone else. It didn't hurt to keep tabs on the girl.
She glanced over at Bujari entered the room, but immediately returned her focus on the card game as if he didn't matter to her at all. They were friends, in a way, but Zeina loved acting cold to him—even more so than she did to most people. Plus, she knew that if she acted too nicely he might just pounce on the opportunity. As he got closer, she could smell his wretched scents.
As Bujari started talking to Torak, Zeina kept her uninterested outside appearance but was smirking on the inside. That man made everybody uneasy and he loved picking on the new kids. She wanted to see if Torak would hold out or not. He seemed to stay calm but let Bujari take his seat. Surprising, considering he was known for his lack of respect.
Although Zeina did manage to suppress laughing, she did let a smile escape her lips. "You can deal with the bloodthirsty Zahi but not our spiritual guider, Bujari?" she asked, a slight mocking tone in her voice. She was planning on testing how far that respect would take him before he started getting the attitude everyone said he had. Zeina did know that Zahi wasn't bloodthirsty and she hardly considered Bujari the typical kind of spiritual man, but the titles were necessary for the mocking.
'Well that was easy enough' Bujari thought as he took the chair, giving Torak a squinting grin. "T'anks, pup, got me groove in it, ya know?" After a wink to their newest Shadow Wolf, the large man leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and began cleaning his fingernails with a needle that slipped from out of his mouth into his fingers.
When his eyes caught Vex's glare, they paused on his for a moment, with a flash of a smirk to advertise that the message was recieved. His eyes then went back to his preening, though when he spoke in reply to Vex's inquiry about the recruits, it was Rufus he looked at. "Beh, recruits be always sheet when eet's slow business. Wolves will get hungy, but 'em pups jus' get lazeh." Another needle slipped out from between his lips, and he used the second to compare to the first. He looked carefully at the two, and, satisfied at whatever he was looking for, slipped both underneath his tongue. "Take dem dead Shadows. I jus' finished doin' what I could ta put d'er spirits ta rest; dey felt sloppeh when deat' became somet'in expected, ah felt it." Bujari wondered if Torak felt them to be sloppy, too.
He audibly laughed loudly at Zeina's comment, and took a look at Torak's cards he left on the table when he gave up the chair. "I'd cowah ta Omega eef Rufus beat me enough fer not!" He continued his laugh to a hearty chuckle, and shook his heads at Torak's cards. 'Very lucky indeed...'. He then grabbed the hand of cards, and shoved them back to Torak. "Ah onleh wanted da chair, pup, keep playin' wit' yer sups, dun' be rude." Bujari then scooted his chair over closer to Zeina, giving Torak enough room to wedge in. "Maybeh ye can start winnin', yeh? We be missin' dues now, killah." Bujari's voice didn't even sound all that nasty with the snide commentary, but rather with a pointed delivery, as there was a point to, in fact, deliver. The yoreiq man felt it was his obligation to bring it up, but now that was done with, and it would just be bad luck to dwell on the dead while gambling. "Jul'ameeeee, Who be bettin' all dem gleents!?"
Rufus kept his expression flat. If he could remain separated from Ryk when he was Rufus, he could surely keep a good poker face. The game was looking like it wouldn't be going for long, things were getting a bit messy. Rufus hated a messy game. He'd just fold out, even if he could read the edges of the cards and knew that he could have a full house if he took the draw when it was his turn. Knowing the cards that well, made the game less fun. Vex needed a new deck.
"Give the Shadow a break," Rufus said referring to Torak, "Even if he's the rude child everyone thinks, he's smart enough to know magic doesn't work around me. Without that advantage he'd have to take Boo in a straight up fight." He looked around at the assembled Wolves, "and we all know that only Charon or I could take him straight on. And only because I'd cheat," Rufus gave Boo, as he called Bujari, a wink. "As for the kids. One looked more like a fighter than a street kid, so I'll be tossing her to the bloods. She looks a bit young, but they'll toughen her up. I do want her to spend some time with you though Zeina," He looked straight into the Coyote's eyes, never afraid of that gift of hers. He was always in perfect control of his emotions. Except perhaps when Dylanna was involved. Oh, a little hiccup of angst, and desire there. Why was he thinking of her now. She'd been on his mind a lot lately. Damn that woman and the emotions she caused. He wouldn't admit to loving her. There was no room for that weakness in his life. This conversation with Zeina, and her ability to read emotions gave him a moment in which he explored his, but it was only a moment. Zeina would likely be confused by the swirl of colors, but he continued on none the less. "She sticks out too much. I need you to be hands on in teaching her to blend and go unnoticed. I don't want Eli anywhere near her until you're confident that she can crowd drift with the best of 'em." Still looking at Zeina, Rufus whipped out three daggers like lightning. One he stabbed into the table in front of him, another between the fingers of Bujari's hand, and the third he gently lobbed up for the Animus to catch.
"How about some Five Finger Filet after this game? I've been meaning to teach Vex to be faster with his hands," Rufus looked to the Omega then, "if you can get half as fast as I am with sleight of hand, your illusions will make you a thousand times better than me."
The Omega listened quietly as the boss described the rookie. Not someone of his style, by the sound of it, but even he had to admit that a bit of extra muscle could come in handy from time to time. Besides, if they weren't useful they wouldn't last long. Nothing he needed to worry about.
Vex nearly jumped out of his seat when Rufus started tossing knives around. "Yikes- don't startle me like that, boss. Normally when people start throwing knives around me, it's at me." He held a hand to his mouth and gave a fake cough while he regained his composure. At the compliment, he smirked. "If you say so. I don't think I'll get much faster than I am, but hey, you're the boss. Can't hurt, anyway."
"Unfortunately it looks like the game fell apart. Feel free to keep my money everyone. I don't need it." Torak put the cards down face up. Five finger fillet was a lot more fun to watch.
"Besides, this is much more fun to watch. I'm useless at getting up to speed in games like this."
Bujari, with a composure to match his sledgehammer ego, barely flinched his fingers when the second knife sunk between his fingers, not that he had enough time to react anyway. He always held a respect for the Alpha's quickness in judging accuracy. When it came to his needles, Bujari never missed, and could punch the tiny slivers through remarkable barriers, but it took time, he had to watch, and absorb, and focus his body to deliver the sting. He had played filet with Rufus before, and lost, but he would never pass up the opportunity of the game with him. Especially if the Omega runt had something to learn from it, practice was the key to every thief's successful career, and as the Animus, it was his duty to encourage it.
The third knife was caught easily in the air, and Bujari, like liquid, turned the catch into a driving force to plunge the blade in the space between his fingers next to the other knife. With a pleased grin, he kicked back the chair and stood. He leaned forward over the table, grasping the handles of the knife with a playful, if devious, smile to Rufus, silently accepting his challenge before turning his head to his left to Vex. "All eet takes issa bit o' blood, 'Mega, ahn a practiced will ta shed less ahv eet each time." Bujari creepily hung there for a bit, turning his head to catch Zeina's eyes behind his shoulder to his right, and jokingly playing with her little trick he had gleaned from her, quickly dipped into his stores of memory for every dirty, vulgar, inappropriate act he has taken part of, to bring it to his surface thoughts, to make a quick, rude emotional gesture to the woman through the aura that she sees. "Right?" He rhetorically asked her with a cruel smile before ripping the knifes from the table and moved to go practice his hands on the next table.
Zeina listened and watched Rufus as he spoke. He was sending her another blood wolf to help teach to blend in to society. Truthfully, she was surprised he didn't do that with Torak. But it wasn't a good time to question him, not in front of all the other wolves. He maintained eye contact with her as he always did—she assumed it was his way of showing that he didn't care if she read into his emotions—but this time his emotions didn't stay stable like they normally did. Instead, his aura briefly changed into a multitude of colors, as if he was feeling many things at once. That wasn't something that happened often... at least not to Rufus. But he continued talking as if nothing was wrong, and his aura returned to normal.
Slightly confused but deciding to think more about it later, Zeina watched the two knives fly towards Bujari and then kept her eyes on him. He was one of the more interesting wolves, and it made him fun to observe. But sometimes she wished she could block out those nasty colors from his aura. So when his aura turned that murky yellow color, Zeina put on a fake smile and said, "Thinking pleasant thoughts, Bujari?"
Her eyes immediately left him, however, when another figure walked into the room. Meisie was heading straight towards Zeina, the only person who she really talked much to other than the kids... though sometimes Meisie would spare a word or two towards Rufus. She made her way to the side of Zeina that Bujari was not on and nodded briefly at Rufus (like Zeina often did herself). Then she turned to Zeina and said, "Elijah is back. I figured you would want to know. He already brought his money to the treasury and should be back in the dorms."
Zeina smiled at Meisie and replied, "There was a girl who just left here. One of the new Scavengers... she has black, choppy hair and is wearing a poofy red skirt. If you wouldn't mind, would you catch up to her and bring her back to the dorms? I'll meet up with her soon enough." Meisie merely nodded at her and hurried out the door.
Zeina turned back towards Rufus and said, "I'm afraid I have to give the girl an introduction to the Scavengers. But perhaps I'll join the game afterwards?" While Zeina might have close to no skill in fighting—especially close combat—her nimble fingers were top notch. In fact, she was probably the only one at the table that could even compete with Rufus at the game.
Rufus looked to Vex. "Well it looks like you made out kid. The game is dead in the water and nobody is claiming the money." Rufus grabbed up the glints and exchange them for the appropriate amount of gold. Fewer coins was always better and he could easily switch out the glints for himself later without incurring a fee that would be charged of Vex, or anyone else, if they wanted the same.
Rufus burned his marker in an oil lamp as he moved from one table to the next. He sat across from Bujari and readied his own blade. "I think I will go first. I'll start out slow to go easy on you Boo." He smirked then, genuinely, a rare sight for anyone to see.